Do you have a sample of the Silestone Lagoon to look at with your tile. I think you are right that it might look slightly off but it's hard to know with out seeing it in person. I also think it might be difficult to find a solid white countertop that will play well with both the white in the tile and your white countertops. Maybe you should concierge a light to medium tone gray countertop. It will provide a little contrast and keep your room from looking too white (unless that is the look you want). I think it would look better not to have too much movement in the countertop since the porcelain carrara tile has lots of movement. I posted a picture earlier in this thread showing the Carrara look alike tile my daughter used in her bathroom. She opted for light gray cabinets and initially wanted a white countertop. She shopped remnants for her countertop and was not able to find something that didn't "look slightly off". She ended up using a black quartz that had some lighter speckles in it. She thought it looked better than a solid color. Perhaps you could find a grey with some flecks of dark grey, black or white in it. I've posted many pics of my daughter's bathroom on this forum but here's a few shots for you so you can see how contrasting colors work Since you probably don't want to go with black, maybe something like Silestones Ocean Jasper Or Moonstone Would work for you. If your not limited to Silestone Cambria has some options that might work too. Snowdown White Greystone Good look with your search for the right countertop.

Your floor looks great! I've been overly obsessing about the floor of my soon to be bathroom, ever since my husband vetoed the marble basketweave I had been planning on for lo these many months. Seeing the faux cararra looking so nice really gives me hope. I'm thinking I want a honed or matte surface if I go for the large scale tile, and found a really decent look-alike by Dal-Tile at Home Depot today. But it is ceramic, not porcelein. Should I be worried? I really have no idea of whether the ceramic would be inferior in a 12x12 tile. BTW, drewem, another poster in the home decorating forum was bemoaning the fact that the Catarina is not available. I guess you've proven that's not the case. Where did you find yours? I hope you'll post on your progress - would love to see more bathrooms of the look-alike kind!

I thought I had already posted my reaction but let's just say that it was very loud, very unprintable, brought my DH running and he said something just as loud and unprintable. It could be translated and bowdlerized as "revered engaging-in-coition-with-a-female-parent excrement!" LOL One a-mazing floor and I am so glad you didn't just tear into it. DH wants that floor for a powder room in our next house... and he even said I could have it in purple, like that one. ;-) We had also bought the console that youngdeb posted - however, we didn't use it partially because it's very TALL! I'm short and it ended up hitting me just below the bodacious ta-tas, making me feel about eight years old. ;-) Because of the way it is put together, we couldn't just cut down the legs. (Once in place it was also too modern for the style of the room.) It got sold for half price on Craigslist. :-( Happily for the gal who bought it, she already had the Retrospect toilet to match, but couldn't afford the $500 sink. Vintagetub.com has a nice selection of pedestal sinks in somewhat smaller sizes with *cue the hallelujah chorus* free shipping. (They do not charge sales tax outside of PA. Whether you pay your sales taxes to the state in April is up to you. When I lived in sales-tax states I always guesstimated a ballpark figure that was undoubtedly too low, but it satisfied my sense of karma.) I have a Cheviot sink (a console though) and it is really great. With the clipped-corner toilet (which absolutely must stay, if you need repair parts for it contact deabath.com or antiqueplumber.com, and if you need to cut down the water flow put a quart bleach bottle filled with water in the side of the tank), I would consider looking for something with clipped corners for the sink. Definitely look at the Cheviot Art Deco, which I think is perfect! Also look at the Cheviot Mayfair (25" wide; also comes in a small 20" size); the Cheviot Classic bears a significant resemblance to the Porcher Lutezia at over $100 less (the Cheviot Essex is a close ripoffresemblance ;-) to the Porcher Pomezia and again over $100 cheaper), and the St Thomas Creations Neo-Venetian (22" wide, 34" high at front rim). I was able to find both Cheviot and STC at local bath showrooms. Contact Cheviot at 604-464-8966 for dealers, and STC has a dealer locator on their website. Try to get multiple names, call around to see if they have the models you want to see on display, and bring a picture of the toilet along. You will most likely have room for at least one nice shelf - glass or wood painted to match your trim - above the sink or the toilet to put down your lens case on. If you put a cabinet or shelf above the toilet, if it's the same depth or less as your toilet tank you are much less likely to bonk your head. Learned that one the hard way. :-) Don't trash the old vanity and its top/faucet - Freecycle it! I have found homes for my bathroom fixtures almost immediately.

I told Sayde I would help her post photos of her kitchen and some tile samples, so everyone could see. (I have serious house envy, having grown up in an English Tudor.) Original Kitchen: New floor plan: Possible floor tile, 4x8 Mojave tumbled travertine tiles: They come in 8 x 4, 8 x 8, 6x6, 12x12. Wish there were 8 by 16 but not in this tile). Another shot of same tile as above: "These are the terracotta pavers I like and they're larger. Worried they'll be more difficult and may-be too red or too dark. ???" Flooring pattern. Def pretty but is it to busy, noisy live with daily? "One alternative to a hood that we would construct might be something like this. I like the geometry of this one . . ." Or copper: Backsplash: "They used three different colors of off white. When you hold the tiles in your hand they look much closer together in value than they do here (below). These are 4x8 but they come 3x6 and also square. They are the only tiles I've seem that have that nice talc like matte surface, but also a very subtle craze that you only see close up. When I saw them next to that edge of midtoned wood I got drawn in. And what about these with the floor? Colors? Sizes?"